Ok, so I tripped on shrooms for the first time a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed myself...it was WOA!! Anyway I would love to do them again but at 50 bucks an 1/8 in my area its a bit too expensive...I mean Id have to lay off the chronic for a week just so I can afford to trip for 5 hours...I think not. So I think I might just grow my own. So I found a decent guide here that I think I will follow, its based off the PF tek method. I would follow it to the T except Ill probably just order pre sterilized substrate jars, also because of space constraints Ill probably be doing only one cake at a time in the 2 liter bottle ghetto terrarium explained in the guide. Anyway before I start I had a few questions. 1. Is smell going to be an issue? If so what is the safest way to eliminate the odor assuming this is a stealth enviroment? 2. Once Ive harvested, will the mycelium cake produce more shrooms or is it pretty much useless at that point? 3. Any other advice?
1. I do not believe that smell would be an issue with this. 2. I think that they continue to fruit up to 60 days after... 3. Keep it very sterile, and good luck my friend!
MMGG is a pretty good tek for a first-timer. I'd say to go with a different terrarium design though. Here are video instructions for one that is simple and effective: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/549451 You can usually get 5-8 flushes (maybe one per week) out of a PF cake if it doesn't contaminate first and maybe 3-5 from a cased substrate. Overall, you get about the same yields in the end regardless of how you do it. In my opinion, the PF Tek takes a lot more effort than just casing a substrate, but it is easier to do and also a good starting point. I wouldn't recommend any other tek to somebody growing for his or her first time. Also, there are no strong odors associated with mushroom growing.
Ok interesting video. However I have a question, by washing then submerging the colonized cakes in water arent you exposing them to a huge risk of contamination? Also by drilling holes in the terrarium (vs manually venting twice a day) arent you again exposed to a higher chance of contamination? Or is contamination not much of a problem after full colonization of the cake?
Dunking will definately help fruit size. Once your cake is 100% colonized it is much less likely to contam. Dunking really helps. Shrooms are a huge percent water.
Patrickbull summed it up pretty well. Just wash your terrarium out with soapy water after you drill the holes. Like he said, a fully colonized substrate is less likely to contaminate. This is because there is no room left for competing molds to grow, but after each flush, the risk of contamination increases because the cubensis mycelium weakens from not getting as much nutrients. The cakes will shrink and possibly bruise blue a little bit after each flush. You'll see for yourself once you do it. It might be a good idea to throw them out after the fifth flush or so, depending on how they look, because they'll eventually contaminate if you don't. In my opinion, not having molds sporulate in your terrarium is worth sacrificing the extra gram or so that you'd get from a later flush.
1. No 2. About 4 flushes per tray 3. I'm better at answering specific questions, than giving general advice on such a broad topic.
